Texas Man Executed For 2001 Murders of Daughters as Their Anguished Mom Listened Over Phone

A 62-year-old former accountant was put to death on Thursday in Texas — more than 15 years after he was convicted of killing his two daughters in May 2001 while their mother listened helplessly to the horror on speakerphone.

The execution of John David Battaglia has been postponed twice before; his attorneys unsuccessfully petitioned the United States Supreme Court, seeking a suspension of his sentence, claiming Battaglia is mentally incompetent for execution.

Battaglia was given a lethal injection and pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. local time.

When asked if he had any final words, Battaglia used his last few moments to taunt his ex-wife, “No. Well, Hi Mary Jean. See y’all later.

“Go ahead, please,” he added before laying down and closing his eyes, according to the Associated Press.

A few moments later, the one-time accountant lifted his head and asked, “Am I still alive?”

Battaglia murdered his 9-year-old daughter, Faith, and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty, inside his Dallas apartment. He and his wife, Mary Jean Pearle, the girls’ mother, were separated at the time and the murders happened during a scheduled visit.

John David Battaglia was executed in Texas Thursday

AP/Shutterstock

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Pearle called Battaglia’s home the night of the killings, and he placed the call on speakerphone, making one of his daughters ask why Pearle wanted to put their father in jail.